After the war with Spain, the United States had interests across the Pacific and the Caribbean. Three presidents in a row shaped how it used its new power, each with a slogan.
Key idea
The Open Door notes (1899) asked equal trading rights for all in China. Theodore Roosevelt backed Panama's independence (1903) and built the Panama Canal (opened 1914), and added the Roosevelt Corollary (1904) to the Monroe Doctrine. William Howard Taft favored dollar diplomacy. Woodrow Wilson spoke of moral diplomacy but also sent troops to the Caribbean and Mexico.
| President | Policy | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| McKinley (Secretary of State John Hay) | Open Door (1899–1900) | Asked the powers to respect equal trade in China and China's territory |
| Theodore Roosevelt | "Speak softly and carry a big stick"; Roosevelt Corollary (1904) | Panama Canal; the U.S. as "international police power" in Latin America; a strong navy (the Great White Fleet) |
| Taft | Dollar diplomacy | American banks and investment to gain influence; Marines in Nicaragua (1912) |
| Wilson | Moral diplomacy | Promised to support democracy; sent forces to Veracruz (1914), Haiti (1915), the Dominican Republic (1916) and northern Mexico (1916) |
Why it works
Why a canal? Ships sailing from New York to San Francisco had to go around South America. When Colombia's senate refused Roosevelt's treaty terms, Panamanian rebels declared independence in November 1903 with U.S. warships nearby; the new nation quickly signed a treaty giving the U.S. a canal zone. Building the canal took ten years and more than 5,000 workers' lives, many from disease. The Roosevelt Corollary said that if a Latin American country could not pay its debts or keep order, the United States, not European powers, would step in. The Monroe Doctrine had warned Europe away; the Corollary claimed a right for the U.S. to intervene.
Work it through
Worked example: Monroe Doctrine or Corollary?
A European navy blockades a Caribbean country to collect debts (as happened in Venezuela in 1902). What would each policy say?
- Monroe Doctrine (1823): Europe should not colonize or interfere in the Americas.
- Roosevelt Corollary (1904): the U.S. itself will step in to collect debts or restore order, so Europe has no reason to.
- So the Corollary turned a warning into a claim of police power for the U.S.
Answer: Monroe: Europe, stay out. Corollary: the U.S. will intervene instead.
Common mistake
Students often mix up the policies by president. Roosevelt: the Big Stick and the Corollary. Taft: dollar diplomacy (investment). Wilson: "moral diplomacy," though he too sent troops to the Caribbean and Mexico. A memory aid in time order: stick, dollars, morals.